Latching mechanism



A ril 14, 1925.

K- J. TOBIN ET AL LATCHING MECHANISM Filed'Dec. 24. 1924 iii) PatentedApr. 14, 1925.

v UNITED STATES 1,533,621 PA OFFICE.

KENNETH JLTOBIN AND WILLIAM W. DARROW, OF CHICAGO, ILI JI NDIS',ASSIGNORS T0 CAMEL COMPANY, OFOHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AGOBIOR-A'JJIO'N OFILLINOIS.

LATCHING MECHANISM.

Application filed December 24; 1924.. Serial No. 757,936.

To all whom it may concern-r.

- Be it known that we, KnNnETH J. TOBIN and TIL'LIAM W. Darrow, citizensof the United States, residing, respectively, .at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, and at Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latching h'lecl'ianisimof which the following is aspecification.

he present invention relates to latching mechanism.

Wore particularly the present invention relates to latching mechanismuseful in connection with movable door jambs such are used in railwayfreight cars of the box car type. Box cars for certain purposes, as, forexample, box cars used in the transportation of automobiles and thelike, must have side door openings of more than the usual width. Carsof. this sort are commonly provided, in addition to the usual slidingdoor, with a secondary or supplementary door, which secondary orsupplementary door is slidably movable to provide a door opening ofextraordinary width but which may be stationarily held when a door open':ing of such extraordinary width is not required. In order to lock saidsupplementary door in its closed position it is common to provide amovable door jamb, whichmay be secured to said supplementary door or maymove independently of said supplementary door- In either case said jambshould be capable of movement longitudinally of the car and should havemeans for hacking same in position. Various means have been provided forthe purpose of locking said movable jamb in the position which itoccupies when the supplementary door is in closed position vSaidposition of the movable 'jamb will be referred/to herein-as the doorclosing position thereof. An object of the present invention istoprovide latching mechanism for a movable door jamb which will bepositive in its action and which may be conveniently manipulated by anoperator when he desires to move said door jaml) to door openingposition.

A further object is to provide latching nu-ichanism for a movable doorjamb which mechanism will invariablydock said jamb at its upper andlower extremities when said jamb is moved to door closing position.

' A further object is to provide latching mechanism for a movable doorjamb having latching means at both extremities of said jamb, whichlatching means-maybepositively controlled a single movement either forlatching or unlatchingfunctions. A further, object is to providelatching mechanism for a movable door jamb which will simplify the workof the operator thereof. p

A further object is to provide latching mechanism for a movable doorjamb together with operating means therefor, which latching mechanismwill remain in unlatch-- ing position when once moved thereto in orderthat an operator may conveniently open said door, said structure havingthe advantage that ifit should be decided not to open said door, thereturn of the latching mechanism to latching position may be iconveniently and readily accomplished.

A further object is to provide latching mechanism for a movable doorjamb, which mechanism. maybe. removaliily held in place without the useof bolts or similar holding means. 7 I

Further objects will appear as the de scription proceeds.

Referring to the drawings-- H v Figure l is a fragmentary view of a carshowing, in side elevation, a movable door jamb employing the principlesof the present invention; 1

Figure 2 is a view of partjof the structure shown in lligure 1, saidview being taken in the direction of the arrows 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 23 is a fragmentaryview illustrating,o1i a n enlargedscale, themechanism for latching a nu. 'able jamb at its lower extreniity.together withthe means for bold.- ing said latching mechanism out oflatchingposition; v I

Figure 4 isa plan vieu' illustrating a latch member usediu carrying outthe principles of the pr nt invention; and y l Figure o is a .view of amodified detail of construction. y i

The numeral ll) indicates the side sill and the. numeral 11 indicatesthe side plate of a railway box ca. The numeral 12 indicates in itsentirety a ntwable door jainb, which in the construction illustrated isa metal jamb. For purposes of clarity the supplememtary door, aboicreiierred to, to

tion. In this position certain latching mechanism cooperativelyassociated with the door jamb 12 engages with detent membersstationarily mounted upon the side-sill and side plate ofthe car.

The detent member associated with the side sill 10 is indicated by thenumeral 13,

and the detent member associated with the side plate 1.1 is indicated bythe numeral 14;. It will be noted that each of said detent members hasthe sloping portion 15, which sloping portions, as will be explainedhereinatt'ter, cooperate with the latching members carried by the jamb12 to guide same into latching position. Each of said detent members 13and 141 is provided with a positive stop portion 15 to limit movementtothe right as viewed in Figure 1. Each of the detent members 13 and 14 isalso provided wit-ha recess 16 providing a wall 17. Said walls l717 ofthe detent members 13 and 1-1. are shown as being substantiallyvertical. Each of the detent members 1 and 1% is provided with theoverhanging shoulders 1S1 8 on the two sides thereof, which cooperatewith corresponding inwardly extending portions 19- 19 at theext-ren'lit-ies of the jamb 12, where- (ill by when said jamb 12 is inits homeor door closing position said janib acts as a strut to preventspreading between the side sill 10 and the side plate 11. l\".[oreover,the intertitting parts at the extremities of the door jamb 12 and thedetent members 13 and 1 provide guiding members for insuring the properrelationship between said detentmembers 13 and 1+1. and said door jamb12 when said door jamb is being moved to closed 'positioin The jamb 12has" housings 12-12" at its. extremities, which housings are identicalin order to cut down the pattern equipment and the stock necessary to becarried on hand. The shoulders 1S-18 are increasingly tapered from thesloping portion 15 rearwardly to the positive stop portion '15;Preferably the .upper faces of the shoulders 18-18 of detent 13 will beparallel with the lower faces of the shoulders 18-18 of detent 14:. Byreason of the tapered construction of shoulders 18 18, a slight brakingaction is had upon the jamb 12 as itis moved to home positon, though itis preferable not to have such a large degree of taper that no bindingis likely to occur. v

Pivotally mounted at the top of the jamb 12 is the latch 20. trunnions21 projecting from the two sides thereof, whereby said latch may berotat- Said latch may have ably mounted. Said latch is also providedwith. the catch'portion 22, which is shown as slightly undercut. Saidlatch is adapted to enter the 17ecess'16 in the detentmember 11 and toabut against the wall 17 of said recess. By reason of the fact that thecatch portion" 22 is undercut, the advantage is attained that a secureholding action may be had betweenthe-latch member and the detent member14, and that unlatching may be accoi'nplished when desired witliout thenecessity for exerting strong force. The other extremity 28 of the latchmember 20 has a pair of substantially parallel walls arranged at anangle to the axis of the door jamb 12, fora purpose to be referred tohereinafter.

' Pivotally mounted on the jamb 12 at the lower-extremity thereof is thelatch member 21 Said latch member 2a is provided with the catch portion25 extending from the lower side thereof. Said catch portion has itsface 26 beveled oft slightly, whereby to simplify the matter of removingthe catch port-ion from the recess 16 of the detent member 13. The latchmen'iber 2a is provided with the extremity 27. The numeral indicates anoperating member having. the aperture 29 near its lower extremity, whichaperture loosely receives the extren'iit-y 2'? of the latch member 24.To hold the operating member 28 in position on the janib 12 a pluralityof vertically spaced bolts 282S may be provided, which are secured tosaid jamb and extend through slots in said operating member 28. The endsof said slots will limit downward n'iovement of said operating men'iber28 and its associated parts to prevent dragging along the floor of thecar. At its upper extremity the operating member 28 is provided with aloop 30. which loosely encircles the extremity 23 of the upper latchmember 20. *Moreovenjthe operating member 28 is provided near its upperextremity with the wedge-shaped portion 30 adapted to have a. wedgingaction with the extremity 23 of the upper latchmember 20 to force samein a clockwise direction when said operating member- 28 ismovedupwardly. Said o 'ierating member is provided with a handle portion31, by means of which said operating member may be conveniently raisedto perform! its imlatching functions. By reason of the loop 30. whensaid operating member 28 is free to fall, it will positively engage theupper side of the extremity 21: of the upper latch member20 to move samein a counterclockwise direction. Assun'nng that the door jamh 12 is inits home or door closing position. such. counterclockwise direction ofthe latch member 20 will result in the engagen'ient of the catch portion"thereof with the wall 17 of the recess Toot the upperdetent member 1Referringto Figures-B and a, it will be noted that the lower latchmember 24 is pro vided with the trunnions 32--32 projecting from the twosides thereof. Said detent member is in the form of a yoke, the two armsthereof being indicated by the numerals 33-33. A pin 34: is mounted inthe two arms 33-33 of the yoke, which pin forms the pivotal support ofthe cam member 35. Said cam member is loosely. mounted upon the pin 34;and is weighted, whereby the force of gravity will cause said cam member35 to tend to assume a predetermined position, which will be referred toherein as the supporting position of said cam member. \Vhen the doorjamb 12 is moved from the left as the parts are viewed in Figures 1 and3 toward the position indicated in said figures, the latch member 251will be in its lowermost position and the cam member 35 will followalong, riding up upon the sloping surface 15 of detent member 18 and,when the jamb 12 is in home position, will assume an inclined positionto the left of the pin 34, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3.When the latch member 24; is raised against the force of gravity, thecam member will drop by gravity to the position shown. in full lines inFigure 3. The cam member will preferably be flattened on its lowermostsurface as the parts are viewed in full lines in Figure 3, that is tosay-the surface which is lowermost when said cam member is free toassume the position to which it is biased by gravity is flattened. Itwill be clear that when the latch member :24 is raised the cam memberwill rotate from the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 to the fullline position shown .in said. figure, in which full line position saidcam member is located above a flat portion of the detent member l3andwill act as a strut to hold the latch member 24. out of holdingposition, that is to saysaid cam member 35 will hold the latchn'ien'iber 2% in a position such that the catch portion 25 will be freeof said detent member 13. As the door jamh 12 is moved toward the left.that is-toward door opening position, there will be a tendency to raisethe latch member 2-4 and its associated parts a small amount, and asmovement is continued toward the left as the parts are viewed in F ure3, the cam member 35 will be rocked to such an angular position that itwill no longer act a strut to support the latch 21-. but will permitsaid. latch and its associated parts to drop by gravity. At this time,however, the catch portion of the latch member 24- will be beyond theregion where said catch portion will fall into the recess 16, for whichreason it is unnecessary for the operator to maintain the operatingmember 28 in its upper position while he is moving the 'jamb .12 towardits door opening position. Not only will the catch member of the lowerlatch men'iber 24: be in position to escape the recess 16 of the detentmember 13, but the catch portion 22 of the upper latch member will be ina position to escape the recess 1.6 of the upper detent member 14. Inpracticeit has be n found satisfactory to design the cam member in sucha way that movement of one-half inch of the jamb 12 toward the left willcause the release of said cam member asa strut. The movement of one-halfinch has been found to be suflicient to allow the catch portions and 22of thelower and upper latch members, respectively, to escape theircorresponding recesses in the detent members 13 and 14:. Of course, theproportions of the parts may be varied as preferred, in order to bring,about the release of the latch mei'nbers at the range of movementpreferred. Y I

The construction of the trunnions of the latch members 20 and 24: willnow be described. It will be noted that said trunnions 32-32- areflattened, as indicated by the numerals E' -32. but that in operationthey have a bearing upon their rounded portions. The housings 12-12 areprovided with hearing lugs 3G-36. Inasn'mch as the housings 12-l2 arepreferably made interchangeable, each of said housings will have a setof lugs 36-36 for use with latch member 20 and a different set for'usewith the latch Inen'iber 24-. Said latch members 20 and 2st areassembled in the housings 1212 before the jamb is secured in plate. Inassembling each of said latches will be rotated to a position such thatits flattened portion will pass by the corresponding lug 36 insubstantially ')arallel relationship with the adjacent face of said lug,the passageway 37 being prov-ided'for this purpose. In service,'tl'1elatch members 20 and 2+ will be in such positions that the trunnions32--32 thereof cannot pass through. said pas. tgeways 37-37, whereby theresult is attained that the latches are securely retained with out theuse of bolts or similar retaining means. During the range of movement ofthe latch members while the jamib is in operative relationship with thecar, the trunnions are securely retained. Only when the iamb is out ofsuch operative relationship can the latches be turncd to such positionsthat the flattened portions of the trunnious 32-432 are in position topass through passageways 37-37.

l t will be'clear that by reason of the'loop at the upper extremity ofthe operating member 28 a positive jerk will he communicated to theupper latch 20 when the operating member 28 falls by gravity. By reasonof said ie-rk said. upper latch 20 is prevented from sticking and willinvariably be moved in a counterclochwise direction when the operatingmember 28 falls, whereby said latch member 20 will be operative toengage the sloping portionlo oi detent member let when the jamb 12 ismoved to home or door closing position. 7

Not only is the upper latch invariably operative to engage with therecess 16 of the upper detentmember let but the lower latch 24 is alsoinvariably in position to engage the sloping portion 15 of the lowerdetent 18, whereby to move into latching relationship when the door jambis moved to home position. As referred to above, the cam member willdrag along the sloping portion 15 of the lower detent member 13 when thedoor amb is being moved from the left toward the door closing positionshown in Figures 1 and 3. When the door jamb has moved to closedposition said cam member 35 will lie in the inclined position indicatedin dotted lines in Figure 3 said cam member 35 having at this time noaction as a strut. lVhen it is desired to release the latching mechanismthe operating member 28 will be raised, which action will result in theclockwise rotation of the latch members 20 and at the top and bottom,respectively, of the jamb. Said clockwise rotation will release thelatches from their corresponding detent members. :laising otthe latch 2%will allow the cam member 85 to rotate to the position shown in fulllines in Figure 3, whereby said cam member will act as a strut to holdthe latch 24. in its unlatching position. shown in full lines in FigureNot only will the latch member 2-lbe held out. of latching position, butthe operating member 28 will be held in its uppermost position, wherebythe wedge-shaped portion of said operating member 28 willhold the upperlatch member 20 in its unlatching position. Vith both latches held outof latchingposition the operator may move the jamb to door openingposition without bothering further with the operating member 28 or thelatches 20 and. 2t. If, as sometimes occurs, the jamb 12 is left spaceda short distance from its home position and a jar received tending tomove said jamb to home position, the latches 20 and 2+ will both locatethemselves within the recesses of the corresponding detent members andlock the jamb. Expressed in other language. it the door amb is movedsutlicient-ly to allow the latch por tion 25 of the lower latch member20 to enl'ae'e the slODinQ portion 15 oi the detent member 13. or itsaid door jamb is moved a. greater distance. the cam member will be in aposition to allow the latch portion to drop into its recess 1b. Thisfeature is of decided advantage in railroad work. for the reason that itminimizes the effects oi? carelessness. 1

It should be noted also that the cam member 35 is housed within thelower latch member 24 and within the lower portionot the movable jamb12. By reason of this construction the cam member 35 is free fromtampering and is protected from weather elements and from the lading oithe car;

As noted hereinabove, the bolts 28' shown in Figure 1 will prevent thedragging oil the operating member 28 and the latch member 24- along thefloor of the car. Such dragging is prevented by reason of the fact thatthe bolts 28 engage the upper extremities of the slots of the operatingmember 28 in which they ride.

liignre 5 discloses a cheaper and equally efiicient structure forpreventing the dragging oi the operating member 28 and the latch member24. According to themoditication disclosed in Figure 5, the extremity ofthe upper latch member 20 is provided with the shoulder portion 38,which carries the loop 30 of the operating member 28. The shoulderportion 38will limit downward. movement of the operating memberQS andconsequently will limit downward movement of the latchmei'nber 24;.whereby dragging of the operating members of the door jamb will beavoided.

Though preferred en'ibodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in detail. it will be clear that many modifications will occurto those skilled in the art. It is intended to cover all suchmodifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Vvhat is claimed is: v V

1. In a box. car, in combination, a movable door jamb. a pair of detentmembers-tor holding the two ends o'l. said jamb latch members at the twoends of said amb for cooperation with said detent men'ibers, a memberoperable in a single movement. for operating said latch members, one ofsaid latch members being proi'ided with automatically operating meansfor holding said operable member in its unlatching position after saidoperable member has been moved to said unlatching position. v

In a boX ear, in combination, a movable door jamb, latching mechanism atthe bottom of said jamb, saidlatching mechanisnil including a latchmember mounted upon said jamb and a relatively statitmarily mounteddetent member, 'aid detent member having asloping latch gu ding portionand a latch receiving recess, said latch member being provided with anauton'iatically operating holding member for holding said latch. memberout oi latching position when said latch member is in position tootherwise 10-- cate itself within said recess.

3. In a box car. in crmlbinatimi, a able jamb. detent members for coupeing with the two ends oi said jam. l members located at the two ends ofjamb tor rmgaging said detent member. 1 member,operable in a singlemovement for .llll

simultaneously controlling said latch members, one of said detentmembers having a sloping latch guiding portion, and a recess forreceiving the corresponding latch member, said last mentioned latchmember being provided with automatically operating means for holdingsaid latch member out oi cooperative relationship with its correspondingdetent member.

4-. In a box car, in combination, a movable door jamb, a detent memberfor holding the bottomof said door 'jamb, a latch carried at the lowerend of said amb, said detent member having av latch engaging slop ingportion and a latch receiving recess, said latch member being'providedwith a swinging holding member for holding said latch member out ofcooperative relationship with said detent member.

5. In a box car, in combination, a movable door jamb, a detent memberadapted to cooperate with one end of said jamb, a latch member carriedby the corresponding ind of said jamb, said detentmember hav--' ing asloping latch engaging portion, and

a recess tor receiving said latch, said mechanism being provided with anautomatically operating swinging member for holding said latch memberout of cooperative relationship with said detent member when said latchmember has been moved out of such coop erativc relationship.

(3. In a box car, in combination, a mov able door jamb, latch meanslocated at the two ends of said door jamb, a common member lorpositively actuating said latch members in a. single movement, and agravity actuated swinging member adapted to hold said common member inposition to cause said latch members to remain in unlatching position.

T. In a railway box car, in combination, a movable jamb, a detent memberadapted to hold one end of said amb, a latch member carried at thecorresponding end oi said jamb, said detent member having a slopingportion, and a latch receiving recess, said latch member being providedwith a swinging holding member for holding said latch member out ofcooperative relationship with said detent member, said holding memberbeing shaped to permit a material n'iovement of said jamld, such thatwhen said. latch memberis released said latch member will escapeengagement with said latch engaging recess.

8. Latch mechamsm including a housing and a latch member, said latchmember havmeans on said housing permitting the passsage of saidtrunnions only when said flat portions are in a predeterminedrelationship with said holding means.

9. In a railway box car, in combination, a movable jamb, a latch memberpivotally carried by said jamb, said latch member having trunnions, saidjamb having bearing means for said trunnions, said latch member having alimitedrange oi operative movement, said bearing means on said amb andsaid trunnions being formed to permit the removal therefrom of saidtrunnions only when said latch member is moved be yond said range ofoperative movement.

10. In a railway box car, in combination, a movable door jamb, a latchmember pivotally supported thereby, said latch member having trunnionsprovided with fiat portions, bearing members carried by said jamb forholding. said trunnions and providing a space suflicient for the passageof said trunnions only when said flat portions are in predeterminedpositions, said flat portions being so, disposed upon said trim-- nionsthat said predetermined positions may be reached only when said amb isremoved from operative relationship with said car.

11. In a railway box car, in combination, a movable door jamb, latchmembers pivotally supported by said jamb at the upper and lowerextremities thereof, and an op erating member for said latch membercapable, in a single movement, of positively moving said latch membersto latching position or to unlatching position, said op erating memberbeing provided with stop means for limiting the downward movement thereo-t. l/

12. In a railway box car, in combination,

a movable door amb, latch means pivotally

